Just because I shared this story with my new grad school gal pals tonight over scrumptious Mediterranean food, I realized that I meant to post something earlier this week. Plus, it's not often that I get on a soapbox about the integration of faith and politics, but sometimes, there needs to be an intervention, whether divine or secular.

Last April when I was getting my tag renewed from the state of Alabama, while I was still living in Washington, D.C., I chose to rid myself of my personalized tag and go with a standard tag. Upon that decision, the following conversation emerged:

vulcan's|muse's mother (mm): "They've got two kinds of tags now, which one do you want?"
vulcan's|muse (vm): "Two tags? What are they?"
mm: "Well, there's that old tag with the Stars Fell on something or another, and then there's the God Bless America tag."
vm: "I want the old one."
mm: "You don't want the God Bless America tag?"
vm: "No."
mm: "But why?"
vm: "I have no labels on my car, no stickers that suggest who I am… Having a tag like that in Washington, D.C. would lead others to believe that I'm a right wing conservative."
mm: "And what's wrong with that?"
vm: "Well, first of all, I'm not. And, there's plenty wrong with that… I don't need anything that points me out as one side or the other. I'd like to make it through intersections without being flipped off a few times."
mm: "Well, fine… I'll get you the old boring tag."

Well, here's the "old boring" tag:

Here's the new religious "standard" tag:

There are a multitude of sins that I could cover with this coercion of tag distribution that is going on in the state of Alabama, but I won't. But, there is one piece of this that just REALLY gets me steamed, and it lies in the bottom of the tag: God Bless America

Yes, I consider myself a person of faith. And yes, I hope that God does bestow blessings upon this country, but not on my country alone – to all of his creation. However, when this statement is made, it usually isn't made in the sense of God bless America, and everyone else too. No, it's God bless America, and sorry that you aren't apparently as "blessed" as we are.

There are a few fundamental questions that people should be asking themselves when they say or pray that God blesses America. When you pray for God's blessings on America, are you essentially praying that you will be more blessed than the person you meet on the street, speed by on the highway, or completely ignore despite their pain? Are you thanking God that you were "blessed" to live in America and not some other developing nation where they don't have the "blessings" of running water or heat and air? Are you deep down asking that God bless everyone, even the Iraqi insurgents, Saddam Hussein's followers, the terrorists in training to wreak havoc on America, Osama bin Laden? Because in all honesty, God gives everyone the same blessings. Our placement isn't blessing; it's geography. And, the last time I remember, Christ said that if you ignore a homeless man, despise an enemy, or petition for the death of an evil man, you are doing the same to Christ. In that way, we forsake Christ, our faith, and our "blessings."

So, seriously? Are you praying that God bless America? Or that God keep you safe from those that you are uncomfortable with or unable to handle? We are all God's children, and we are all given God's blessings… even those whom we feel don't deserve it. After all, it's not our place to judge.